Heatherly Bell

Good friends to lovers story. Noah and Twyla have been best friends for most of their lives. Their connection is evident to everyone around them, many of whom insist the two are in love. But Noah and Twyla insist they are just friends because each fears losing that bond. Complicating matters, Twyla briefly dated Noah's brother, Will, before he died in a boating accident.

Noah's grief over Will's death, the guilty feelings he has over not being able to save him, and his complex relationship with Will drove him away from town, looking for a new start as a firefighter. But a narrow escape brings him back to town and Twyla. He's ready to follow his dream of running his own boating business, but will he find the courage to tell Twyla how he feels?

Twyla runs her family bookstore and pines for Noah. She's kept her feelings for Noah to herself because he shows no interest in being anything more. She's tried dating, but none can hold a candle to Noah. Meanwhile she throws herself heart and soul into keeping the bookstore going and fending off her friends' matchmaking attempts.

I enjoyed watching Noah and Twyla's relationship develop, though there were times when I wanted to knock their heads together. Their feelings for each other grow stronger, but denial is a long-standing habit that is hard to overcome. Complicating matters, Noah's guilty feelings make him feel unworthy of Twyla, so that's one more thing that holds him back. I loved seeing the lights finally go on and they realize they'd been in love for a long time. There are still some obstacles to overcome, but love, patience, and communication win the day.

I loved the bookstore setting. As a bookaholic and former bookseller, it was easy to relate to Twyla. From the poetry club and costume party to receiving book shipments, I felt like I was in the shop with her. I worried with her over the bookstore's financial woes and rooted for her to win the angel investor prize.

I also enjoyed the secondary characters. The Almost Dead Poets Society always makes me smile. I loved seeing Noah settle into his new business and deal with his inherited employees. I especially liked the ultra-cool T and his variety of T-shirts.… (mere)

Good book. The book opens as Boone admits that he envies his two brothers, who have found love. He's ready for a wife and family of his own but finding the right woman has been difficult. He and his family have only been in town a couple of years. His father bought their ranch after winning big at gambling. Unfortunately, the established "money" ranchers seem to look down on the newcomers, making Boone feel like he's on the outside looking in. When his younger brothers put his name in for a makeover with a local stylist as a prank, he's furious and determined to decline the offer.

Sofia works for a local boutique that will soon carry a menswear line, and the owner comes up with the idea for a makeover to advertise it. As Sofia reads over the entry letters, she's visited by local psychic Winona, who pulls a random letter from the stack and tells her that's the one she should pick. After reading it, Sofia agrees. That cowboy sounds like the perfect candidate for a confidence-boosting intervention.

I had to laugh when Boone went into the boutique to turn down the makeover in no uncertain terms. Instead, Sofia's beauty bowled him over, and he decided to go along with it so he could get to know her better. Sofia is equally entranced with Boone, who showed up in his work clothes, straight from working with his horses. She sees a somewhat scruffy, slightly shy man who she knows she can help. She has no idea that he's one of "those" Daltons.

I liked watching Boone and Sofia get to know each other. There are some sweet scenes between them before Boone's guilty feelings force him to confess the truth. Sofia's anger and hurt are pretty intense at first, but Boone eventually wins her over. Their feelings for each other grow, but there are obstacles. Sofia has dreams of a career in fashion design and has plans to go to New York. She's honest about those plans and that marriage is not in her immediate future. But Boone made up his mind that she was the one for him and proposed anyway. I felt as frustrated as Sofia did with the way he didn't listen to her. Then when he tries to make it up to her, he digs himself deeper into the hole of her frustration with him.

Sofia has some baggage of her own that makes her resist her feelings for Boone. She is convinced that there is no way she can combine her career and a family of her own. Like Boone, she didn't truly listen to his point of view. It took an eye-opening conversation for her to realize the power of compromise. Boone also received a reminder that setting the right priorities makes a world of difference. I loved the ending and seeing both give a little to find a way forward together.… (mere)

Valerie and Cole, once teenage sweethearts, are thrown back together as adults when Valerie not only takes a job at Cole’s bar, but the pair enter their town’s annual Mr. Charming Competition, each desperately in need of the $10 000 prize.

I went into this expecting sparks flying with one competitive challenge after the next, Valerie and Cole going head-to-head equal parts flirtation and rivalry with a little bit of gender politics thrown into the mix as well given that no female had ever before run for Mr. Charming. However, much to my disappointment this book didn’t play out like that, Mr. Charming wasn’t even really a competition so much as a popularity contest with a bare minimum of campaigning and the very very few times (and I do mean very few) that “Mr. Charming” featured in the story it mostly for some unfathomable reason just involved Valerie and Cole nicely working together rather than being opponents.

In fact, there’s so little conflict between Valerie and Cole that when their relationship does reach the dark moment it just felt kind of contrived and strange to me that Cole had such a hissy fit over Valerie going to take care of something that was entirely about her moving forward yet Cole somehow acted like it signaled the opposite.

I was more interested in the side stories of Cole’s alcoholic father and the drama between Valerie’s grandmother and father, there was a messiness to those relationships that was sorely lacking in the rest of the book.

This last minor complaint is totally a personal preference thing, but if the endearment “baby” grates on your nerves, be forewarned it felt like Valerie and Cole called each other “baby” about a hundred times over the course of the book.

I’m sure there are plenty of readers out there who don’t mind the “baby” thing and would happily read a story involving an overabundance of nice (even a woman set up as the rival for Cole’s affection doesn’t put up a fight, it’s a book ostensibly about a competition that has little to no competition of any kind in it), this just unfortunately wasn’t right for me.… (mere)